Buhari To Leave Behind A Debt Of ₦77 Trillion For Next President – DMO 

He said that the federal government had withdrawn the money from the apex bank, which had been the balance accumulated for more than ten years.

By Omotayo Olutekunbi

President Muhammadu Buhari’s outgoing administration will leave behind a 77 trillion-naira debt.

The Buhari government is expected to transfer a total national debt fund of around 77 trillion in May, according to the Debt Management Office’s (DMO) Director General (DG), Ms. Patience Oniha.

The DMO helmsman claimed that if the National Assembly (NASS) approves the securitization of the 22.7 trillion Ways and Means debt secured from the CBN, the cost of servicing the loan would significantly reduce. He made this claim at the “Public Presentation and Breakdown of the Highlights of the 2023 Appropriation Act” in Abuja on Wednesday, January 04, 2022.

In her words: “The other area of the debt stock we are trying to highlight is to say, the debt stock is also growing from the issuance of promissory notes which are not true borrowing as such by the government.

“While the debt is growing because there is new borrowing, revenue is receiving significant attention.

“Like DMO always says, you can’t talk about debt without talking about revenue. We need the two to work together,” she said.

Emerging reports state that the due payments will be made up of the issuance of promissory notes, the estimated fresh borrowings of N10.57 trillion included in the 2023 budget, and the entire debt stock of N44.06 trillion as of the third quarter of 2022.

Buhari has requested the National Assembly to reconsider its stance on his proposal to pay the Central Bank of Nigeria an overdue N22.7 trillion.

He said that the federal government had seized the money, which had been the balance accumulated for more than ten years, from the apex bank.

“Failure to grant the securitisation approval will however cost the government about N1.8 trillion in additional interest in 2023 given the differential between the applicable interest rates which is currently MPR plus three per cent and the negotiated interest rate of nine per cent and a 40-year repayment period on the securitised debt of the Ways and Means.”

When some MPs objected to the proposal that was deemed unlawful, the chamber descended into chaos.

The National Assembly was not notified or given permission to use the funds, and the MPs requested information about the expenditure.

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has made advances (or monies) to the federal government for emergency funding of a delayed budget imbalance.